Jennifer Harman
January 09, 2006
In an earlier tip, I gave advice for playing
Stud-8 or Better.
For this article, I'll look at the other popular hi/lo
split game, Omaha-8 or Better. In my article on Stud-8,
I encouraged players to look for hands that have the
possibility of scooping entire pots. The same goes for
Omaha-8: whenever possible, you need to position
yourself to take every chip from a big pot.
The best Omaha-8 hands have four cards that work
together. Something like Ad-Ks-2d-4s is a terrific hand.
It gives opportunities for high hands with flushes and
straights. It's also likely to make a winning low. When
you see a hand with this sort of potential, play it
aggressively pre-flop. You also want to play hands like
Ad-2c-3h-5s, Ad-2c-3s-8c, and Ah-2d-3c-Qc, but since
these hands don't have as many opportunities to make
great highs, you may not want to be as aggressive.
Some players overvalue any hand that contains A-2.
For example, a hand like Ah-2c-8s-Jd isn't all that
great. It's got a chance to win the low half of a pot,
but it's unlikely to make a decent high. Another problem
is that a hand with A-2 and not much else is in danger
of "getting quartered." That means if another player
holds A-2, you'll only win half of the low half. Getting
quartered in a big Omaha-8 hand isn't much fun.
That warning aside, in very loose Omaha-8 games where
six or seven players are seeing every flop, you should
play most hands that have A-2. The pots will be large
enough to justify playing for only the low half of the
pot. But even in a multi-way pot, there's no need to
play every hand with A-2 aggressively. When you have
little chance of winning a high, you're better off
seeing a flop cheaply.
In tight games, where only two or three players are
contesting most pots, you can muck a hand like
Ah-2c-8s-Jd pre-flop. When the pots are small, you don't
want to get involved in any confrontation where you have
little chance of making a good high hand.
Many players undervalue hands that contain four high
cards. For example, a hand like K-Q-J-T is a solid
Omaha-8 hand. Any flop that has two cards above a 9 will
give K-Q-J-T a straight draw, two-pair, or a set. On
such a flop, there probably won't be a qualifying low,
so there's a great chance to scoop. (In Omaha-8, three
of the board cards must be 8 or below for anyone to make
a low that can take half the pot.) If the flop has three
low cards, you can abandon K-Q-J-T, knowing that it's
got essentially no chance to win.
Should you find yourself playing a hand with four
high cards, don't be seduced by a flop that gives you
only top pair. A flop of K-5-2 is not good if you're
holding K-Q-J-T. With such a flop, you can be pretty
sure that some of your opponents are playing the low end
of the deck and are working on powerful lows and
straight draws. In fact, in multi-way pots, you should
be wary of any single pair or even two-pair. It usually
takes a strong hand to take the high-half of a multi-way
Omaha-8 pot; a five-card hand - a straight, flush or
full house is often necessary to win.
Omaha-8 attracts players who love to play pots. Many
draw too frequently and play hands that can only get
them in trouble. If you learn to play Omaha-8, you can
take advantage of these loose players and turn a solid
profit.
Jennifer Harman
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